Troy students team with designers to pilot educational video game

Fifth-graders Danny Rogers, left, and Kaseam Coley, right, tell game designer Matt Nolin what they like about “Letter Battle” on Thursday.
Mike McMahon — The Record

troy >> Fifth grade students at School 18 were some of the first in the region to use a new educational video game to teach spelling.

After playing “Letter Battle”, created by Troy-based 1st Playable Productions, on their new school-approved iPads, a class of 17 students had the opportunity to provide input about the game.

“I really liked it because it was like an adventure,” said Kayla McNall, 11, of Troy. “It wasn’t just spelling words.”

1st Playable has been working on the game, now available for purchase, for about four months, said Matt Nolin, a game designer with the company that employs around 50 people.

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Jared Heiner, the director of technology for the Enlarged City School District of Troy, said the district has a good relationship with the local video game company which is headquartered downtown. The Troy Middle School will host future events with the business, including a conference about gaming and education and a workshop for teens in August.

“This is great since the kids can learn at their own pace and it is good for all levels,” said Heiner.

The new iPads have been available at the school for about one month, as part of the district-wide technology upgrade approved by the district’s voters. School 2 in North Central has had access to iPads for a bit longer, since last school year, thanks to a state grant.

Heiner said the game was not an example of “passive learning,” since the kids were talking with each other and interacting as they spelled the words. He not only felt there was phonetic learning and engagement, but also that there would be better retention since the students were learning by doing instead of just writing a word multiple times to memorize it.

He noted that while an English as a Second Language student was having difficulty understanding the verbal instructions, once he started to play and spell, he was learning with the game, too.

The premise of “Letter Battle” is that a student has stolen all of the letters in the world. The players’ goal is to collect all of those letters. Incorporating audio and visuals, there is also an option to plug in and record new words. The game is available for $1 on iPhone and Android devices.

“This is the first time the game has been used in this particular atmosphere,” said Nolin, noting that he planned to visit the class again in the near future so the kids could play the game again.

For teacher Jane Wells, the students’ smiles said it all.

“I saw some very smiling faces,” said Wells, a teacher of 20 years. “We’ll definitely be using this again.”